The Terran
by GhostofthePhoenix
Summary: This is a what if/modern Earth Au. What if Star Wars didn't happen a long time ago but is happening now, what if it wasn't some galaxy far, far away, but this one, what if the Ghost crew picked up another loth rat between seasons 1 and The Siege of Lothal? Follow Mark Jager as he joins the Ghost Crew and watch at how he changes the outcomes. Characters might be OOC. First FanFic.
1. Intro and Explanation

This is a what if/modern Earth Au. What if Star Wars didn't happen a long time ago but is happening now, what if it wasn't some galaxy far, far away, but this one, what if the Ghost crew picked up another loth rat between seasons 1 and _The Siege of Lothal_. A kid who was dumped on Lothal from Earth. The center of the charted universe and the place where the force is the most powerful. Almost everyone on Terra as it is known is a force wielder with tendencies towards both the light and dark side, beings of true balance, but because the inhabitants of earth are so unfocused, untrained, and have only thought of Jedi based off Force inspired movies, they are unable to access their full abilities. However, the entire known universe is scared to approach as they are the only race whose weapons can penetrate any shield with ease, and who's steel and titanium can easily stop most any blaster bolt and cut any skin/armor. But they (obviously) have very little knowledge of space travel and energy weaponization and are sorely lacking in the technological department.

At this point, On the Ghost, Ezra, has accepted that Sabine will never see him more than just a best friend and a little brother. I am also going to play with physics a little bit. Out in space time tends to move faster, but humans, who can all trace their roots back to earth though most have lost the force connection, will age at the same rate as earth. For example, if they live on Lothal, a single earth day could be a week on Lothal. However, a human on Lothal would not know the difference. It would seem that a Lothalian day is the same as a earth day. If a human lived sixty years on Lothal they would barley age a month and that is across the known universe. (I haven't done the exact math so bear with me.) Everything time wise is based off of earthen time because, humans, surprisingly is highest numbering race in population. These are descendants of humans who were kidnapped to space during times like the stone age.

I know this stinks of "Marty Stew"-ism but I am just experimenting.

This is my first fanfiction. Please no hate.

Remember **I ONLY OWN THE PLOT** **AND SOME OC's. DISNEY OWNS STAR WARS AND THE MAIN CHARACTERS.**


	2. Meet Mark Jager

**BTW Huge shoutout to CCougar4279 and his story The Flaming Rebellion for a few ideas.**

Chapter 1

Mark's POV

"All troopers to the central market, this is a code red emergency, rebels have made off with essential supplies."

I laugh quietly to myself as I speed towards my new home, a communications tower 5 klicks north of Capital City, discarding the stolen helmet. The imperials will never learn how to properly guard assets. This morning I found I was running low on food in my little base of operations so I decided to take a trip and go "shopping." An imperial shuttle had just landed and was unloading supplies for the Imperial complex. Those bucket-heads, being as dumb as they are, had all their manpower within a one block radius, helping to unload the shipment. No one was guarding the vehicles. All it took was a sliced coolant tube on a speeder bike, a few revs and 5 minutes later a whole line of speeder bikes went up in flames. All of the troopers working on the shipment ran to the bike line, allowing me to slip in, grab a whole load of supplies and depart the area.

It has been 2 Lothalian years since I escaped the pirates ship. From what I gather, that is equal to 2 earth months. I don't fully understand the time disconnect out here, but apparently, humans that live within this galaxy age as if they were on earth, so they keep track as though they were. I guess I'm lucky, it's just a little piece of my real home that I have. I grew up on the streets for almost my entire life. I am 17 years old and have been alone for 5 earthen years. I grew up near Minneapolis, Minnesota, in a nice home with a wonderful family, without even dreaming that what we saw on the movie screens was happening beyond our telescopes and satellites. That all changed when my parents were murdered right in front of my eyes, and my little sister was taken. My German father owned a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant on Main-street in downtown Minneapolis and we would help him from time to time with his customers. One day, a gang known as The Empire came in to our little shop, and shook my Dad down for protection money. He refused and they executed him on the spot, then just shot my mom in the head. My sister was only 2 years younger than me, they grabbed her, and started to run out the door. Then one of the members remembered me. Slowly he turned around, leveled his gun and pulled the trigger. I felt a searing pain in my chest and blacked out. When I woke up, I was in some alley with the wound stitched up. From then on I survived. I learned to fight like a demon, how to drive like a maniac, and how to get what I needed any way I needed to survive. I did what I had to do so well, I became known as The Reaper. I became infamous throughout Minnesota. I was the figure in the dark no one messed with. Everything changed when one night, a ship crashed in a field I was sleeping in. Turns out it was a bunch of pirates and bounty hunters from across the galaxy, beings I would later come to learn as Trandoshan, Durosian, and Weequay. They caught me poking around and shot me. Well at the time I thought they shot me, but apparently, I only got stunned.

I spent 2 weeks on that ship as their prisoner. They treated me nicely, but for some reason seemed scared. When I got a chance, I escaped in a pod and landed on this planet. I spent a couple of days wandering around trying to find a city. When I found one I stayed. One day I saw an old Mandalorian being harassed by troopers. I helped him fight off the troopers and he took me in. He brought me to his home and taught me everything he could about the galaxy. He also taught me his language and about his people saying that I had grown to be like a grandson to him. He only died a few weeks ago.[1]

I shake myself out of my reverie as I approach my home. A communication tower out on the prairies. Well, it looks like a communications tower. Below it is an expansive network of tunnels, apparently, a forgotten experimental base. I pull my custom speeder bike up to a small rocky precipice and glide to a stop.

"Juno, open the door, I'm home." I say up to the cliff.

"Welcome back, Mark, I assume that the run went well?" a feminine voice responds as shuttle bay doors slide open in the side of the cliff and I glide into a medium sized hangar.

"Indeed, it did. The dunder-heads didn't even know what happened." I say as I pull the anti-grav crates full of stolen food to a lift. "Level 2, please Juno."

"Interesting news on the holo today, Grand Moff Tarkin's Flag Star Destroyer was incinerated and decommissioned earlier today due to a rebel attack, although the Grand Moff escaped and assumed command of another ship in his fleet." Juno tells me as I ride the lift down to the floor with my huge conservator.

"Really? Shame, the empire needs one less puppet master." I say off handedly as the lift stops and I push the crates to their respective places.

"I have finished running diagnostics on the new piece of equipment you found on level 4. It appears to be some sort of replicator."

"Replicator?"

"Indeed, apparently, it was an experimental prototype the empire created to try and increase production and to synthesize more elements for the planets they have overmined"

"So this thing can create anything out of thin air?"

"Within reason, yes"

"Ok, what are the limitations?" I press as open a door to a large warehouse sized room and start walking towards my personal ship, a modified YT-1760. The old ship was in good condition but needed work. It had been abandoned here to decay. I had laid claim it when we claimed this little base.

"The replicator tends to malfunction when producing foods that are originally organic, specifically animals," Juno answers.

"Well then, no fresh meats." I say sarcastically as the manual for the ship pops up on my wrist computer. "If the replicator can create elements the Empire is searching for, why the need to mine?" I continue as I grab a wrench and open the power relay to the main fuel-cell.

"The empire wants to keep its citizens … occupied, for lack of a better term" Juno hesitates.

"You mean slave labor." I bite back. Reconnecting the wires to the power core.

"Indeed."

 _I wish Pop was still here. He would have loved this. Using imperial equipment against them._

"Alright, finally!" I shout and slam the relay cover down, as the interior lights in the ship come on and the computers start humming. I find the closest data-port and plug in my wrist-com "Juno, upload yourself to the ship and run a full diagnostic and system check."

"Already uploading."

"What's wrong with the replicator? Is it working?" I ask as the progress bar starts growing on the ships computer screen.

"It appears the empire could not find a suitable power source, otherwise I see no reason why it wouldn't work." Juno responds, albeit slightly distorted. "Upload complete, running systems check."

I start thinking about how I can get the replicator working. I needed another blaster. I pinched a DL-44 blaster off some high and mighty self-centered imperial and found that it would be easier if I dual wielded them. If I can get the replicator working, I could make myself a new blaster, besides, I'm running low on my 9mm ammo for the Barretta I brought with me.

"Systems scan show few problems, isolating and fixing programing problems now, uploading physical problem to your wrist-computer." Juno says after a few minutes of silence.

A scan of the ships internal targeting system appeared on the screen of my wrist-computer. A small area was circled in red near the top of the ship right around the turret. I grab my tools, and climb to the turret. It turns out the problem is simply a disconnected targeting computer for the guns. I open the specs on the ships computer and start plugging in the loose cords and wires to their designated areas.

"Running second diagnostic check … all systems running at full capacity. This ship is practically a brand-new ship. Just a little dusty after being forgotten down here." Juno informs me, shock lacing her voice.

Juno is a top of the line AI system. I found an old protocol droid and an old astromech droid when I first moved in. Everything about them was corroded but, I was able to clean off their main computer and integrate them into the base's computer system. With a little tweaking, combining, and adding, I created Juno, an AI system unlike anything the galaxy has seen. Her computing/"thought" processes are so fast and complicated they are near human.

"Great, now I just need to learn to fly it. We can do that later. Is my helmet done?" I muse quietly as I saunter over to my personal work bench.

"Indeed. The heads-up display system in your helmet is fully operational and is fully integrated with your wrist-computers." Juno relays, as I pick up a scary looking helmet, unplug it from the data-port and turn it over in my hands.

"It's time I pay Tarkin Town another visit, I'm sure they are running low on food again." I mutter as I stare into the hollow eyes of the human skull in my grasp. "Those poor people, kicked out of their homes with nothing except the clothes on their back."

"The shipment of supplies you have been gathering for Tarkin Town is ready to be delivered." Juno says, quietly.

"Good, time to suit up."

I jump onto the lift and shoot up to the top of the communication tower where I keep my armor. During my time with Pop, he had shown me his armor and said that I should make my own. I had found some earthen titanium lying around in the tunnel systems and had started forging my armor with the help of my surrogate "grand-father."

I open the door and started putting on my all black armor. A chest plate with loose stomach plating. Over the torso armor I wear a black, ankle length, leather duster with a hood and sleeves cut off at the elbows. Gloves lead to elbow length arm guards with a wrist computer system integrated on both arm pieces. Hidden within the bottom of each arm guard is a retractable black steel knife, fashioned after one of my favorite earth video games. The front of each wrist-com opens to expose a small wrist launched missile on the left arm, and a cable launcher is on the right arm. On my legs, I wear black shin guards over steel toed combat boots. Under the duster, a shoulder holster carries my Berretta 92FS. On my thigh, I wear a holster for my DL-44 and I carry two machetes, one on each shoulder over the duster on my back. Strapped to the back of my belt at the small of my back are two combat knives and sewn to the inside of the duster itself were several pouches and pockets for explosives, distractions, and extra ammo. Built into the side of my boots are ports for removeable rocket thrusters.

"Time to add something new." I quip as I pull on a glove. I pick up the human skull I had set aside and press a small thumb scanner under each cheek bone. The helmet expands a in my hand and I put it on. The heads-up display glows to life and the targeting system comes on.

"The Reaper is back," I laugh quietly as I raise the jackets hood up and over the helmet.

* * *

[1] {} denotes Mando'a


	3. Tarkin Town

This new helmet is awesome. Some of my best work. Integrated range finder and binoculars, a comm system to listen in on the empire or if I ever join a team, and a targeting system for the missiles. Together with my wrist computers, I have short range jamming systems, hacking capabilities, control over the propulsion system in my boots and arms, and remote detonation if needed to the detonators in my coat pockets. Also, this helmet has the entire list of weapons of the known universe, which I have committed to memory, stored in its data banks. It can scan and identify any weapon or ship once it is with in visual range of the helmet. It also can highlight possible routes to any destination and the current velocity at which I am traveling.

I am back on my chopper style speeder bike hurdling my way over the Lothalian plains, pulling a long line of crates towards Tarkin Town. A small refugee camp started by people thrown off their farms. The camp is contemptuously named after Grand Moff Tarkin, the governor of the outer rim. The people there have it tough, little food, little supplies, and constant trouble from the Stormtroopers.

Dogs start barking as Tarkin Town grows steadily closer. I have been supplying the refugee camp ever since I heard about it. Once every month I bring food, clothes, and supplies to the poor people here and every time I come I bring a treat for the animals that act as both pets and guards. Whenever I come, the people refuse to let me go without staying and socializing usually using the last of the food from my last shipment to create a camp-wide potluck. While I do not like being the center of attention, it gives me time to play with the children.

"He's coming! He's coming! Only one person has a speeder like that!" someone yells as I approach the edge of the camp. People start swarming out of their shelters and gather at the center of "town" and wait impatiently as I approach. Children start running towards me as I slow down and glide to my usual spot. I swing my leg off my speeder and stand up. The kids slide to a stop as they see the glowing white eyes of the skull that is my new helmet. One starts to cry.

"Hey, hey it's okay, it's just me," I say soothingly completely forgetting about the voice changer hidden in the mask that's turning my voice harsh and guttural. The children start slowly backing up, a few more starting to cry. The adults look at me curiously, some with apprehension.

 _The helmet!_

Realization dons on me and I slap myself in the face. " _Dummkopf **[1]**_ " I yell aloud and a few of the children start to run back to their parents as I absentmindedly shake the sting out of my hand. Quickly I put my thumbs under the cheekbone and the helmet opens enough for me to slide it off. I set the helmet on the handlebars on my bike and turn back to the villagers.

"I am so sorry, I completely forgot that my new helmet might scare you as well as those stupid bucket-heads," I say, slowly dropping to one knee and looking at the children who had stayed behind. Slowly, ever so slowly the children start coming back to the front of the group, some looking at me with wary expressions.

"That was a helmet?" A young child asks looking at me then at my bike where the helmet now sits with wide eyes.

"Why is it so scary?" Another queries squeezing her Lothcat doll.

"Yes, it is a helmet, and it is so scary that way when the Empire tries to attack me, they will see a big black figure with a skull for a head and glowing eyes. And do you know what they will do?" I respond seeing a way to break the nervous tension.

"No, what?" asks a third young one as the children start creeping closer.

"They will look at me with the scary mask," I say lowering my other knee so I am kneeling in front of them, "and they will be so scared they will pass out. Like this." Suddenly I flail my arms out and fall backwards sticking my tongue out the corner of my mouth. I lay there for a minute as the children giggle before sitting back up.

"What if they don't pass out?" asks the child clutching her doll nervously.

"Well Lu-Lu, I'll tell you. If they don't pass out they will be so scared that when they get back to their base, they'll have to change their undies, and wash their uniforms." I say matter-of-factly.

At that Lu-Lu giggles and then laughs with the rest of the children as I exaggerate a trooper walking into the barracks with messed pants and having an embarrassing conversation with a commanding officer.

I finish the charade with everyone, children and adults, both laughing as I made fun of the cowardly forces of the empire. Eventually, everyone settles down and gathers around my speeder. I releas the crates from the back of the speeder and people startgrabbing and pushing them towards the common storehouse. A large semi-temporary building the size of a small shed. Within an hour we had the back half filled with the food crates and the sides of the front half lined with clothing and tools.

"Now that the heavy work is done, stay and eat with us," says Lu-Lu's mother as I start heading back towards my bike.

Indeed, you must stay and eat. It is the only way to thank you" another man claims.

"You know very well that I do not need to be thanked." I say as I open a small leather bag on the side of the speeder.

"We insist," says Lu-Lu's mother

"Oh, very well." I relent as I pull out several large pieces of Bantha meat.

I lay the meat on the ground at the edge of the camp hold out my arms and let out a long, eerie sounding whistle, a tune I had heard in a space hero movie back on earth. At once barks, howls, and other sounds erupted around me and dozens of animals came running from every direction. They skid to a stop in front of the meat sit down. All, that is, except for one who starts creeping towards the meat.

 _Uh-uh, not yet_.

"Just be patient," I tell the young puppy as he backs away with a guilty look.

…

"Alright, go ahead," I drop my arms and the dogs and cats attack the meat with gusto.

I chuckle to myself and turn towards the sound of a party. The men are pulling tables out of houses and the women are cooking out of doors. The food smells delicious and the kids are running around playing games. I remove my coat and weapons and join in the games. The adults never let me help. All I know is that this is going to be another night to remember.

* * *

[1] "Idiot"


	4. A Slight Predicament

"System check complete, replicator fully integrated into ships mainframe. Main power core holding, all output levels are excellent. Replicator is ready for test." Juno says as I finish installing the chest sized replicator against one wall of the new on-ship armory.

"Let's see if this works." I pull my DL-44 out of its holster and place it in the chamber of the replicator.

"Scanning ... Weapon … DL-44 blaster pistol ... scan saved."

"Holy…" I leap out of my skin as the mechanical voice of the replicator came out of nowhere and a light blue laser light starts sweeping over the blaster. Robotic arms start taking the blaster apart piece by piece until the entire blaster is in pieces, floating in the chamber. Suddenly holographic outlines appear beside the original blaster pieces and new mechanical arms start moving over the outlines until each outline is filled with a new identical part. Just as quickly as the first one was taken apart the two blasters are put back together.

"DL-44 blaster completed."

 _Wow, that happened a lot faster than I thought it would. Let's get a holster for this new blaster._

I pull the blasters out of the chamber and replace them with my holster. Three minutes later I have a new holster and blaster strapped to my left leg.

 _Let's try something … other-worldly._

I grab a round of 9mm ammo from my dwindling supply, pull it apart, and stick each piece into the replicator.

"Scanning…unknown part…unknown part…detonator cap…explosive powder…scan saved."

 _Hmm seems to work ok._

I pull the round out of the replicator and set it on my reloading station and reassemble the round as the replicator makes and drops parts into the small containers at the bottom of the chamber.

"Juno, start mass producing ammo for my Barretta for the next 3 hours" I call as I angle the containers to drop the pieces into buckets I placed underneath

"Parameters set, replicator will stop after 3 hours of reproduction. Mark, there is a Correlian light cargo ship under attack by TIE fighters directly above us."

Ugh…

"I really don't feel like a fight. Especially after last night's feast at Tarkin Town."

"Mark, they have lost their shields and could lose power soon."

"Why didn't you say so!" I yelp "Let's go blow up some TIES." I grab my helmet and run towards the lift to the top of my tower.

Once I reach the top I activate a panel and the sides of the tower fall away and a large set of anti-aircraft cannons fold out of the roof and a chair pops up with a targeting system and cannon controls from the floor. I jump in the chair and grab the cannon controls. A single light freighter ship was flying around the plains, frantically dodging and weaving trying to out run and out maneuver the barrage of green blaster bolts that were being fired from the half-dozen ties on its tail.

"Juno, link my helmet comm with the ships comm system."

"… done"

"…can't fool the destroyers if we have TIEs on our tail," a stern feminine voice rings in my ear "Zeb coming in at point 6!"

Several shots are fired from the rear of the ship all of which miss the intended target.

"Karabast, I missed him!" a gruff masculine voice shouts in frustration, "Kid, he's coming your way!"

"I see him, I see him!" a younger masculine voice calls, "Got him"

The TIE explodes in a white ball of fire as the lone ship gets pounded by fire from the other five fighters.

"We're losing power! Chopper, reroute all power except for the cannons to the engines we have to leave!" exclaims a calmer authoritative masculine voice.

"Womm womm" comes a binary response which gets translated as "Yeah, yeah, whatever!" on my HUD.

"Chopper, stop grumbling and do it!" Yells the feminine voice, each word dripping with annoyance.

 _What an interesting group._

A TIE flies through a blast of fire from the front of the ship and strafes the port side of the hull.

"Someone get him," Calls the young masculine voice.

I lock on and squeeze the trigger.

Whoomp.

Boom.

"Awesome shot, who did that?" asks the authoritative masculine voice.

"Correlian VCX-100, my scans indicate that you are losing shields and power. You will not be able to get into space with damage like that."

"Who is this?" demands the first voice as I take out another TIE.

"A friend. Fly past the communications tower out your starboard side and into the canyon on the other side. You will find an open hangar door fly in and land."

"How do we know we can trust you?" growls the gruff voice.

"You don't, but you better decide quickly, there are more TIEs leaving Capital City now."

"Specter 2, we don't have much of a choice! At this rate, we will never get out of here."

"Agreed, Specter 1."

"Karabast, Fine!"

"Acknowledged, 'Friend.' But this better not be a trap. We've already got problems." comes the authoritative voice now known as 'Specter 1.'

I blast another TIE before answering, "It's not. Juno, cut the line."

A lucky shot from the rear cannons take out another TIE as the ship flies over so low, it jostles the tower.

The last two TIE pilots seem to be a bit brighter than the first four and dodge all my shots. As they fly over, I fire two missiles from my wrist. Seconds later, two separate explosions rock the ground. I get out of the chair, deactivate the cannons and jump in the lift.

"Juno, Hangar."

"Right away."

As I rocket towards the hangar level, I pull up the surveillance video of the hangar and watch as the ship lands.

Ezra POV

20 minutes before.

"Specter 6, in position," I whisper into the comm unit on my wrist and wait for the signal. Ever since joining Phoenix Squadron we have turned a little more militaristic but for now at least are still doing mostly are own thing. Stealing from the empire and taking the occasional job from Fulcrum/Ashoka. We had been given a basic grab and go mission the day before yesterday. A shipment of weapons was being delivered to the imperial complex and we were taxed with grabbing the shipment and delivering it to Phoenix squadron. The plan is a spinoff of what had brought us together. I was going to be on the roofs and cover Sabine while she provided an explosive distraction. Kanaan and Zeb would take care of any remaining guards on the ground and then we would all jump on speeder and meet up with Hera at the rendezvous.

"Alright, get ready." Came Kanaan's response. I pull my lightsaber off my belt and rest my finger on the trigger. Specter 1 walks out of a cantina finishing a small cup of caf with his blaster in his hand. He swallows, crushes the cup and holsters his blaster with a spin.

I level the barrel of my blaster at the storm troopers close to where Sabine will be headed. A colorful Mandalorian steps out of a doorway and tosses a detonator onto an unused, scorched, imperial speeder bike. As she walks away a trooper sees her and points his blaster at her.

"Hold it! This is a secure area. Rebel activity has been reported in this area over the past day. You must… AAGH!"

The poor trooper couldn't finish his sentence before I fired a shot and knocked him to the ground with a bolt of strong electricity. Shouts are coming from everywhere as the speeder bike blows.

"Hey, let's go!" Sabine yells right next to me.

"AAH!" I scream "Don't do that!"

"Sorry, but we gotta move!"

"Right, right."

We start running across the roofs down a couple of streets.

"There! I see them," shouts Sabine as she draws her blasters and starts shooting at the Stormtroopers pinning down Zeb and Kanaan. I point my lightsaber and together we take out the remaining troops.

"Thanks, there are a lot more troopers around here than I thought there would be," comments Kanaan as we jump down and board the speeder bikes.

"We noticed. Now, let's get out of here," I respond.

We take off in a cloud of dust. Kanaan, Zeb and I are pulling crates. Since Sabine isn't, she is leading the way to try and clear a path if we run into trouble.

"Company!" hollers Zeb and activates his Bo rifle and zaps a scout trooper. Kanaan turns around and starts firing at the other three troopers behind us.

"Ghost in coming," states Hera as the Ghost flies over and lowers the ramp while flying only inches from the ground. Sabine jumps off her speeder, lands on the edge of the ramp, turns, and starts firing at the troopers as Kanaan Zeb and I pull into the cargo bay.

"We got TIEs!" shouts Hera just as the ship rocks with the impact from a dozen blaster bolts accompanied by the signature roar of a tie fighter.

"GUYS!" screams Sabine as she loses her balance and falls off the ramp to the street below.

"NNNOOO! SABINE!" I bellow uselessly as I try and reach her.

"oomph…" she grunts as she hits the street "I'M FINE! GO! I'LL MEET YOU AT… **GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME!** "

I grab my lightsaber and start shooting at the scout trooper who had grabbed Sabine

"Hera! We have to go back!" I exclaim into the ships comm system.

"We can't! We have too many TIE's on our tail. We'll get her Ezra don't worry, right now I need you in the nose gun."

"All right, I'm coming. I stumble to the front of the ship as we take hit after hit. I jump into the seat and start firing at TIEs as they come around.

 _I need to tell her._

Working together Kanaan, Zeb, and I take out half of the TIE fighters as we take off over the plains north of the city.

"We need to get into space so we can make the jump and lose them!" Kanaan yells from the turret as the ship rocks from impacts.

"You know that's not possible right now!" Hera calls back "We can't fool the destroyers if we have TIEs on our tail. Zeb coming in at point 6!"

I hear shots coming from the Phantom as Zeb blasts at the TIE.

"Karabast, I missed him!" he shouts in frustration, "Kid, he's coming your way!"

"I see him, I see him!" I answer.

 _Just a little more, a little more, got ya._

"Got him"

The TIE explodes in a white ball of fire as The Ghost rocks.

"We're losing power! Chopper, reroute all power except for the cannons to the engines we have to leave!" Kanaan orders firing at another TIE.

"Womm womm" Chop responds.

"Chopper, stop grumbling and do it!" bellows Hera, each word dripping with annoyance.

 _Oh, no you don't_

I start firing at a TIE that flies right in front of us

Crap, I missed

"Someone get him," I say.

Boom.

"Awesome shot, who did that?" asks Kanaan in awe.

 _Not me that's for sure. That shot came out of nowhere._

"Correlian VCX-100, my scans indicate that you are losing shields and power. You will not be able to get into space with damage like that."

 _WHOA_

"Who is this?" demands Hera as another TIE gets blown to bits.

"A friend. Fly past the communications tower out your starboard side and into the canyon on the other side. You will find an open hangar door. Fly in and land."

"How do we know we can trust you?" growls Zeb.

"You don't, but you better decide quickly, there are more TIEs leaving Capital City now."

"Specter 2, we don't have much of a choice! At this rate, we will never get out of here."

"Agreed, Specter 1."

"Karabast, Fine!"

"Acknowledged, 'Friend.' But this better not be a trap. We've already got problems." Kanaan answers the harsh voice as another TIE blows up.

"It's not. Juno, cut the line."

 _Juno? Who's Juno_

I look to the right as Hera comes around and see a communication tower a lot like my old home.

Something's different.

"Hey guys, do you see what I see?" I ask

"No" Kanaan replies

The ship rocks with a nearby explosion.

"That sounded like a TIE blowing up!" exclaims Hera.

"Two actually" Kanaan shoots back.

"Hey guys! There's a cannon on top of that communications … WHOA" squawks Zeb as Hera takes a sudden dive into the canyon.

"There up ahead, I see the doors!"

The Ghost jerks as Hera slows down and flies through a large opening in the canyon wall. Slowly she touches down near another ship.

Right as the ramp lowers, the lights go out and all the doors pop open.

"We've lost power. Get ready. If this is a trap we are going to have to fight because we are not going anywhere soon.

"This is no trap, I promise you." Comes the guttural voice we heard over the comm system.

A black figure steps out of a lift and we all level our blasters at him.

"Uhh… guys, what is that?" swallows Zeb as he tightens his grip.

I don't blame him. Whoever this is looks like it came out of your worst nightmare. A black figure with a long leather trench coat, armor, weapons… and a black skull for a head with glowing white eyes covered in a deep hood.

"My name is Mark, Mark Jager[1]" the creature says with its hands raised in surrender "I mean you no harm."

"That armor. Its Mandalorian." Kanaan notes

"Indeed, I forged it with my adoptive grandfather. An old Mandalorian who took me in after I crashed here."

"What happened to your face?" queries Zeb, a slight tremble in his voice.

"Nothing, it's just a helmet."

"Take it off" I demand edging a little closer.

The figure slowly moves his hands up to his head and rests them on the mask. His thumbs slide under the cheekbones and the helmet expands. He slowly pulls it off revealing the face of a young human man maybe only a couple years older than my own 15 years. He turns slowly, keeping his hands on his helmet and away from his weapons, and walks towards a work bench. He sets the skull down and moves his hands to his chest. He grabs the edge of his coat and slowly pulls it off revealing three more blasters. One in a holster even with his left ribs and one on each thigh. He drops the coat and grasps the blaster on his chest with his right hand. We had relaxed a little but as soon as he touched the butt of the blaster we snap our weapons up and pointed them at his chest.

"Oh no you don't. Hands out!" snaps Zeb resting his finger on the trigger of his rifle.

Immediately the guy extends his hand.

"Please, stay calm. I am simply disarming myself. I believe we will all rest easier if you know that a potential threat has no weapons." Mark explains in a soft low baritone keeping his hands in front of him.

"Fine." Kanaan decides, keeping his blaster even with Mark's chest "move slowly and only touch your weapons with your left hand using only your fingertips."

He nods and pinches the blaster on his left thigh, pulls it out of the holster and places it on the table all the while keeping his right hand extended towards us. He crosses his hand over himself, grabs the blaster on his right thigh the same way, de-holsters, it and places it next to the other. Next, Mark moves his left hand to his side and sticks his finger through the trigger guard of the blaster on his side. He tugs on it slowly, but the blaster doesn't leave the holster. He rolls his eyes.

"I am going to use my right hand and hold the holster in place. Please do not freak out."

Kanaan nods and steps back slightly as Mark moves his right hand and presses on the strap that holds the holster in place. He tugs again and the blaster comes out swinging down on his finger, barrel pointed up. As soon as it's free, he extends his hand again and lays the third blaster down on the table. He turns his back to us revealing two knives on his belt which he slowly removes, joining the blasters on the table. He turns to face us again, extending his left hand moving it towards the arm guards on his right arm.

"Hey, what are you doing?" asks Hera confused.

"De-arming myself, miss." Mark responds with a slight smirk as he removes his right arm armor and moves his right hand to his left to repeat the process.

The joke eases some of the tension as Hera lowers her blaster and chuckles.

After placing his weapons and arm guards on the table Mark turns towards us and leans on the table. Kanaan holsters his blaster and I clip my lightsaber to my belt. Zeb looks wary but slings his Bo-rifle on his back.

 _Sabine, I need to find you. I need to tell you._

* * *

[1] Ya-ger


	5. Names and Plans

**Hey Y'all. Update's on this story should be fairly often at least on the weekends and maybe a few over the week. This week I have daily updates for chapters I have prewritten. Also send me ideas and thoughts on the story. Give me situations for the Ghost crew to get into as well as familial situations. Anything romantic has to be KanaanxHera and MarkxSabine. Thanks!**

"Who are you? What do you do? Why did you help us?" fires off the apparent leader of the group. He is a human of average height wearing a green shirt, gray pants, and boots. He has a blaster on his right thigh and armor down his right arm.

"I already told you my name" I say calmly as I lean against the table that holds my weapons. "As for what I do, I am a 17-year-old street kid. I am simply trying to survive. At least that's what I did before I landed here 2 planetary years ago. Now I am trying to survive, help others survive, and take a bite out of the empire while doing it."

"So you're a rebel?" a green skinned Twi'lek, their pilot based off her outfit, asks.

"It's kind of hard to be a rebel to something you were never apart of, but yeah."

"How can we trust him. He might be an imperial informant!" snaps the large purple being. A species I have never seen before. But then I have only been in space for a couple of years.

"Look mate, the empire may not necessarily care about the safety about their troops but they aren't so cruel to shoot down their own fighters… I think. Ok they may be that cruel, but they need the resources." I point out.

"I've seen stranger things. How can you prove that we can trust you and that you are really are against the empire!" growls the being as he steps towards me and jabs a finger in my chest.

"Zeb, Sabine is being held by the empire, our ship is damaged and can't fly and you are sitting here worrying about possibilities! This guy helped us out of a tight spot. That's all that matters to me."

We all look over at the kid pacing next to the ship. He is wearing a pained expression mixed with sadness and anger. I stand up at his words.

"The empire has one of your crew?" I ask quietly. The kid nodded. "Your girlfriend I'm assuming. Based off your reaction."

The kid shakes his head. "No, she's family. She's like a sister to me."

"What can I do to help." I say moving towards him.

"We need to rescue her. We have done a lot of fighting against the empire here on Lothal and have become well known here. They will know who we are and hold her if not torture her for information."

I wince at the word torture and rub the side of my stomach.

"The only problem is that we don't know where they would hold her," explains the pilot.

"What happened? If I may ask," I say sympathetically.

"Grab and go op went bad. There were a lot more storm troopers then usual and they responded a lot faster than we expected. Sabine was covering our extraction from the ramp of _The Ghost_ ," the leader points back at their ship. "Some TIE got lucky and landed a shot just right, rocked the ship and she lost her balance and fell right into a group of soldiers."

I cringe and move over to a large holo-table. "Juno, bring up the specs for the imperial complex."

A hologram pops up of the camp. Digital outlines of the structures that make up the fortified area show where the barracks, command center, training areas, galley, and hangars are located.

"There does not appear to be a place where the imperials would hold a person such as your friend captive," Juno states quietly.

Everyone except me jumps and start looking for a new threat

"What was that!" exclaims the purple creature as he looks around.

"My name is Juno. I am the computer system of this base and the ship. I was created by Mark from the computers and memory files of an old protocol droid."

"So a droid without a body," the kid states quietly.

"I don't know what to tell you… uh… " I start before realizing no one had told me their names.

"I'm sorry. The name is Kanaan, Kanaan Jarrus." Kanaan responds extending his hand.

"Kanaan!" Hisses the Twi'lek.

"He tells the truth, I can sense it. We can trust him"

I raise an eyebrow as I shake his hand warmly and he turns to the others as they gather around the holo table.

"This is Hera, Zeb, and Ezra. That rolling bucket of bolts is Chopper"

I shake each hand in turn and turn back to the hologram as an idea pops into my head.

"Juno, tap into the Empires frequency and see if you can locate where they would have locked up their friend."

"Sabine" Ezra corrects.

"Tapping into frequency now."

A male voice crackles to life.

"This is LRZ-45. The rebel prisoner is being held and interrogated in cellblock A2, interrogation room 4. Awaiting transfer to the destroyer "Monarch."

"Acknowledged, LRZ-45. You will hold the prisoner until the morning. A shuttle will be sent down at O'10 hundred."

"Understood."

The voice fizzles out leaving silence.

"Juno, could you highlight cell block A2, please." Kanaan says quietly.

A small building near the end of the complex lights up in red.

"What's the layout of that building?" I state staring at the building thoughtfully.

The complex layout vanishes and blueprints for the lone building take its place. Kanaan studies the layout quietly.

"Here," he states pointing at a small room "this is where they are keeping her."

"Looks simple enough. Juno bring up the complex map as well. Replace the building with the blueprints." I order as the holograms flash around. "We fly in and drop in here. We bring some charges and blow a hole in the wall here. Two of us run in and use a small charge to blow the door while the other two of us keeps them covered outside. Hera, I am assuming you will be staying with the ship," She nods. "Once the doors are blown we free Sabine, and head into the building…"

"Who is this 'we'?" Zeb says looking at me.

"I want to help. It is partially my fault Sabine was captured." I respond guilt twisting my gut as I realize my little exploit yesterday caused the extra troops.

"How so?" Hera asks suspiciously.

"Yesterday afternoon, I stole a shipment of supplies from the imperials for myself and Tarkin Town. The only reason there would be more troops and a faster reaction time was because they were expecting more trouble, which they got when you showed up."

 _I screwed that one up._

I look up and see that Kanaan is scrutinizing me.

"You are telling the truth. Very well, you can help. Continue with your plan."

"Um Ok? Once we recover Sabine we should head into the building. We should encounter some troops but they should be…"

 _Stormtrooper!_

I leave the sentence hanging and glance at Kanaan and size him up.

"Oh man," I facepalm " _Ich bin so bl_ _öd! **[1]**_ "

Kanaan looks confused, "What?!"

"Have you ever impersonated a Stormtrooper before?"

"Yes," Kanaan responds hesitantly.

"Ezra, have you ever impersonated a cadet?"

"Yeah," he says confidently.

Kanaan looks at the map before realization dons on his face.

"It couldn't be that easy."

"If we play it right it might." I say as I grab a data-pad and plug it into the holo table data-port.

"Juno, create a set of legit looking transfer orders. and open a line straight back to the imperial officer that we heard earlier."

"Opening a line to officer LRZ-45. Bouncing signal off all communication tower within range. Modulating voice to match Destroyer officer."

"This is Commandant Cryst, LRZ-45."

"LRZ-45, there has been a change of plans." I say authoritatively, "Grand Moff Tarkin, wishes to speak to the prisoner, immediately. Due to a recent rebel attack on our ships, a shuttle will be landing at the imperial complex anywhere from a half to 2 standard hours. Ensure the prisoner stays bound and guarded at all times. She has proven to be a rather successful escape artist in the past. We will return the guard after the prisoner and her possessions have been transferred."

"Understood, Captain," comes the immediate albeit wary sounding response, "We shall be waiting."

The line cuts and I look up to find everyone staring at me.

"What?"

"You just impersonated an imperial captain and ordered a commandant to give you imperial backup without batting an eye. You even sounded legit without the modulation. Have you done this before?"

"I used to do it all the time back on my home world," I mutter darkly as I un-plug the data-pad and hand it to Kanaan.

"Do you two have uniforms and a pilot helmet? Or do you need to use one of mine"

"We have everything except for the helmet." Kanaan responds looking over the forged orders.

"Good get changed. You'll find the helmet in one of those crates over there." I direct pointing to some armor crates over in the corner of the hangar.

"What if something goes wrong." Zeb fires off, arms crossed over his chest.

"That's where the rest of us come in." I say looking back at the complex map. "Zeb and I will be on the roof here just outside the complex with a sniper rifle and a machine gun to provide cover. Hera will be nearby that way if something goes bad we need to be ready with the ship and waiting to bail everyone out. The basic plan is to do everything as a Stormtrooper would do. Act as normal as possible, however once we get out of range we knock out the guard and ditch them somewhere, blow the shuttle elsewhere and come back here."

Kanaan nods, then walks with Ezra towards the crates I had indicated.

"We have another problem. Our ship is dead and we don't have time to fix it," Hera points out.

"You can use my ship." I say looking at the Twi'lek.

"When was the last time it flew?" she asks incredulous.

"Not sure. But it should work."

"Should?"

"I just finished all the repairs I could. I would actually really appreciate it if you were to check it out and make sure it actually flies." I say sheepishly.

Hera nods and heads onto my ship with Chopper in tow.

"What about me?" Zeb asks looking at the hologram.

"You and I are going to be cover for Kanaan and Ezra. If something goes wrong, we jump in and bail them out." I respondv

"You already said that, what I mean is what do I do now?

I shrug "up to a game of _dejarik_?"

* * *

[1] "I am so stupid."


	6. The Rescue I

I'm sitting at the work desk inside my ship armory as Hera flies towards the imperial space port, loading 9mm ammo in my Dylan press.

 _This crew is like a family. They care so much for each other. Reminds me of my own…_

Screaming fills my ears and tears start to slide down my cheeks as the looks on the faces of my own family's last moments on earth flash before my eyes.

"Hey, you alright," comes a soft voice from the doorway.

I quickly brush my tears away and turn to see Zeb standing behind me with a slightly worried look on his face.

"I'm good. Just memories. You guys are like a family, aren't you?" He nods. "You … just … remind me of my own family." I respond quietly.

"Oh. What happened?" Zeb quickly amends, rubbing the back of his neck "It's Ok if you don't want to tell me."

I hesitate. "The Empire. Shot them down right in front of me in my dad's old café."

Zeb releases a ragged breath. "I am so sorry."

I shake my head. "You shouldn't be. You weren't a part of it. In a way, you fight it by fighting the empire. In that way, your honoring them."

He nods, "I also mean back in your home. I shouldn't have been so distrusting."

"I can tell you have suffered betrayal in your life. You are naturally suspicious. I was the same way, still am in some ways." I say looking at him. "You were right to be suspecting. I was a new face living in an old imperial base. You did nothing wrong."

"Thank-you." He says, then his face turns dark "Seriously though. If you betray us I will personally ensure you regret it."

"I have no doubt you will. And I wouldn't blame you. I've been stabbed in the back to many times to know what you mean." I responded quietly. The faces of some so called friends back on earth flashes before my eyes and I blink rapidly trying to dislodge the image.

He looks at me curiously for a second and then asks, "That blaster you have, I've never seen anything like it."

I pick up my disassembled Barretta from the table and look at it. "It's a pistol from my home world. Shoots projectiles instead of lasers." I push the slide and barrel back onto the bottom and rack it a few times.

"Why are you doing that?" Zeb questions as he steps into the room and leans on the desk standing next to me.

I gag slightly from the smell emanating off but I keep all trace of the repulsion off my face.

"I just cleaned and re-lubricated this. It has a lot more moving parts then a blaster and needs to be kept running smoothly, or else it could fail when I need it. I'm just trying to force the lubricant around the moving parts to keep them working smoothly."

He nods and watches as I fill several magazines and load one into the handgun and slide four into pouches on my blaster holsters, two on each, and the rest into my jacket pouches.

The comm crackles to life and Hera's voice comes through the speaker. "We are approaching the space port. Get your gear together and let's get our girl back."

I jump up and grab my DLT-19X sniper and a DLT-19 heavy blaster fitted with a medium scope off the wall as Zeb walks to the cargo bay. I sling the sniper over my shoulder, and join him at the ramp, handing the automatic blaster to him.

"You ready?" he asks looking down at me.

I pull on my new helmet, flip up my hood and look back at him. "Are you?"

I kneel and click my boot thrusters in place as Hera sets the ship down. Zeb hits the control on the wall and the ramp drops. He runs into the crowded streets of the market and I follow as the Lambda Class Shuttle the Ghost crew had "borrowed" flies overhead with Kanaan and Ezra at the controls.

"Specter 1 to The Reaper. Kid, are you sure this will work?"

"It has the other times I've done it, but we still need to be prepared to blast our way out of this if we need to."

Kanaan lets out a sigh, "Alright, let's hope this works. I just have a bad feeling about this."

"I know, I'm feeling it too. Just be ready for anything and keep your comm on one way so we can hear what's going on." I respond as the imperial complex appears at the end of the street.

"Why?"

"So, that I know if ya'll need help" I fire back as Zeb and I turn down an alley way and stop in front of a wall.

"Alright kid, lets hit the rooftops. I'll boost you."

I throw my rifle up to the roof and am about to fly up when Zeb grabs me by the back of the neck and bodily throws me up high enough for me to grab the edge. I pull myself up and retrieve the sniper as Zeb appears at the edge laughing.

"You do realize I have a small jet pack system on me and didn't need your help?" I ask him.

He shrugs and looks me up and down.

"Isn't carrying all of those weapons and bombs heavy?" He asks while raising an eyebrow.

"A little," I respond, "But I am so used to it, they hardly slow me down. Besides these space guns are a lot lighter than from where I come from. Also, I am only carrying a few explosives."

He shrugs again and starts jumping roofs towards the complex. I make sure the sniper is securely strapped to my back before taking off after him.

"Alright I am in position just outside of the complex." Hera reports.

"Sending in security codes now." Kanaan adds.

I drop onto our assigned roof and slide to the edge. The building is one of the tallest in the sector and stands 100 yards from the complex. I can easily see over the low wall surrounding the base and the activities taking place inside. I drop to my stomach next to Zeb and pull the rifle off my back.

"Alright, we are in position. Zeb, Hera, mute your coms to Kanaan and open a line to his receiver. Let's play ball."

I watch as the shuttle carrying Kanaan and Ezra makes its final approach to the field and lands. A commandant walks towards them. I shoulder the rifle and pull off my helmet, leaving an earpiece in my ear before peering down the scope. Kanaan and Ezra step out of the shuttle and walk towards the commandant and snap off a sharp salute.

"Orders." The same voice we heard back at the tower filters over the comm.

Silently Kanaan hands the officer the data pad.

The man reads through the orders and a small smirk appears on his face before disappearing as fast as it came.

I feel a shiver run down my spine. "Guys, get ready. Something's wrong, I think they are expecting us."

Chopper bleeped an affirmative in my ear and the Commandant starts speaking into his own comm.

"Bring out the prisoner."

A door opened at the far end of the plaza and a beautiful girl is shoved forward almost falling and forced to walk at blaster point surrounded by troopers. Her hair is blue ending in orange highlights. She is wearing a black sport crop-top and black, torn, form fitting shorts. She wears no shoes, her bloodied hands are bound in front of her, her stomach and legs are bleeding and somehow, I can feel her fear. Zeb stiffens next to me and his finger slips to the trigger of the machine gun blaster.

"Sabine, what have they done to you."

When Sabine reaches the commandant, he forces her to her knees and the Stormtrooper battalion fans out making a half circle around the girl facing Kanaan and Ezra.

"That's right girl, where you belong." He turns to look at Kanaan. "We've been expecting you, rebels. I have read up on your tactics and knew you would come to rescue this Mandalorian rebel wench. However, I must say, faking imperial orders to have her transferred to a different star destroyer was quite clever. However you overlooked two small things. A guard is always sent with a shuttle no matter how under manned they are and Grand Moff Tarkin is currently away, meeting with the emperor in person and unable to personally deal with worthless trash like you."

By now it seems the entire imperial force in Capital City has shown up, surrounded Kanaan and Ezra and are staring down the barrels of their blasters. Cryst, levels his own blaster at Sabine's head. "Surrender, and your friend will live … for now. If not, she dies here and now."

Sabine quickly shakes her head at Kanaan and starts to say something only to get pistol whipped by the commandant.

"Answer me!" He screams.

A new plan starts to form in my head and I connect my comm to the one-way receivers in Ezra and Kanaan's ear.

"Do it. I have a plan but you need to surrender for it to work." I whisper urgently.

Kanaan nods and raises his hands, Ezra does the same as Zeb starts glowering at me. They are grabbed, forced down and cuffed as well with guards removing their helmets.

"Take them inside."

All three are pulled up and pushed towards the building Sabine first came from.

"Specter 1, when you pass the room that keeps the confiscated weaponry, say something. Ask a question, yell, scream, I don't care but say something. That will be our cue. When you hear blaster fire be prepared to make a break for it. Kid, you have a lock pick hidden on you that you can get at, right? Struggle to say yes."

Ezra squirms in the grip of a guard and promptly gets shoved to the ground.

"Good, when the shooting starts you'll be shoved into a nearby empty cell. Use the pick, get to the room and re-equip Specter 5. Specter 2, get ready. When you hear specter 1's cue take off and help us out, we'll need a quick getaway."

"Roger that. I'll be ready," comes the determined reply.

I look over at Zeb. "Ready big guy?"

He nods and tightens his grip on the rifle as my new friends are led inside the building.

…

Second after agonizing second follows filled with only the sounds of shuffling and the occasional shove coming from the three in the building.

Zeb starts muttering to my left, "Come on, come on."

"What do you want with us!"

The sudden shout from Kanaan startles both of us and Zeb involuntarily squeezes the trigger sending a volley of shots into the complex. Immediately people start shouting and a siren sounds as Stormtroopers flood into the plaza looking for the shooter. I choose my targets and start firing, each shot dropping a storm trooper. Zeb recovers from his shock and starts shooting into the plaza with reckless abandon, sending troopers scattering for cover, laughing the whole time. In my ear I hear panicked shouts, a door opening and pained grunts as Kanaan, Ezra and Sabine are shoved into a cell.

"Alright, get out of there and find her gear!" I yell as I continue to pick imperials off.

"I am incoming! Reaper, what do you want me to do?" Hera shouts as I hear my ship fly closer.

"Circle the plaza and help us out clearing a path. I installed a chain gun to the front of the ship under the cockpit, you might have seen the hatch for the gunner seat. On the control panel, there should be an option to move control up to the pilot. Once that option has been chosen, the gun will lock in forward position and the trigger on the right side of the yolk fires it."

"Got it, opening fire!"

The sound of a rapid-fire blaster fills the air as _The Grim_ circles the plaza laying down a heavy barrage of fire from the front of the ship.

"Reaper, we are suited up and are headed towards the plaza. What do we do," comes Ezra's voice sounding determined a few minutes later.

"Specter 2, swing around and pick up Specter 4. Zeb, when she gets here cover us from the ramp." I hand him my sniper rifle, slide my helmet on, and draw my DL-44s.

"Once we are through the main gates, Hera, you will need to swing around to do a moving pick up. I can keep a path clear for our people to move. Specter 1, 6, once you see Specter 2 coming, run for the ship, I will be right behind you." With that I jump off the roof.

 **(Boot thrusters: imagine a mix between Star Lords and Cad Bane)**


	7. The Rescue II

Sabine POV

Pain. That's all I feel is pain. I don't remember anything after falling out of the Ghost. I have a massive headache and feel uncomfortably cold. Something moves, and I slowly open my eyes and look around. Everything is fuzzy and colorless. A large shape is in front of me and I squint trying to make it out.

"Finally, your awake," a harsh voice spits "took you long enough. That was an hour of my time I did not need wasted." The shape moves and I recognize the imperial uniform of a commandant. I groan and move my arm.

"AAAAARGHH" I scream as electricity courses up my arm and through my body. I look down to find myself strapped down to a large table.

"I assume you're comfortable?" the officer queries, then continues waiting for an answer, "oh, well that's too bad." He leans over and gets in my face. "It's only going to get worse until you tell me what I want to know."

 _You aren't getting anything out of me._

I stare back at him in defiance, not saying a word. He sneers back at me.

"I was so hoping you would do that," He chuckles darkly, "It only makes our time together more … fun."

He slaps me hard on the face, turns and walks over to a control panel. I know what's coming as he presses a button.

I scream again as more electricity surges through my body.

"Where is your pathetic rebel base?" He growls as soon as the pain dies down. I simply glare at him with all the hate I can muster, only to scream and clench up once more as he turns up the voltage. "WHERE!"

He keeps shocking me demanding that I answer him. The whole time I'm shouting myself hoarse. Finally, the pain stops and the bastard walks up to me. "It seems you won't break with just some electrotherapy, scum. We do still need you alive and not succumbing to fibrillation in your heart. It just seems I'll have to do this the barbaric way." He pulls out a vibro-knife and sticks the point under my chin.

"I have studied the human body very thoroughly. I know what will hurt, cripple, and kill. We will go through each step until you tell me what I want to know."

"Do your worst," I cough at him.

He shrugs and moves over to my right hand, and pushes the knife edge under the nail on my ring finger before twisting it. I do the best I can to stifle a scream.

As, the torture continues he cuts me on my legs, on my stomach, removes fingernails and even punches me a few times. Each time hurts more than the last. He only stops when a trooper runs in.

"Sir, an imperial shuttle is requesting to land. It claims it is here to take the prisoner to Grand Moff Tarkin."

The officer smiles darkly. "It seems your friends have come to rescue you. Trooper, bind her and wait for my signal."

The soldier nods as the officer leaves the room and quickly does as he is ordered.

The cuffs on the table release and I fall to the floor only to be pulled up by my hair, my hands cuffed together in front of me. Once bound, I am pushed out of the cell. A squad of soldiers surrounds me and forces me to the main door of the complex. Looking through the window I can see the officer reading a data pad in front of a storm trooper pilot and a cadet. The comm on a soldiers belt, bleeps as the officer outside raises his other hand.

"Bring out the prisoner."

A storm trooper opens the door and I am forced out into the blinding sunlight. I steady myself and walk towards the troopers standing near the officer, the hot sands of Lothal burning my bare feet. As I walk, I notice a flash on the roof of a building outside of the compound.

When I reach the officer, he grabs my shoulder and forces me to my knees.

"That's right girl, where you belong." He turns to look at the pilot. "We've been expecting you, rebels. I have read up on your tactics and knew you would come to rescue this Mandalorian rebel wench. However, I must say, faking imperial orders to have her transferred to a different star destroyer was quite clever. However, you overlooked two small things. A guard is always sent with a shuttle no matter how under manned they are and Grand Moff Tarkin is currently away, meeting with the emperor in person and unable to personally deal with worthless trash like you."

I feel a blaster at pushing at my head and I look up to whom I suspect is Kanaan. "Surrender, and your friend will live … for the time being. If not, she dies here and now."

I quickly shake my head at Kanaan and start to tell him not to do it, that he can't surrender. But, before I can, I feel a sharp pain in my head and my vision goes double.

I here shouting and movment before my vision comes back into focus. I look up and see Kanaan and Ezra both on their knees with their helmets off and bound in front of me.

"Take them inside."

I am pulled up again and pushed back to the building. I can't struggle, I feel so tired, so defeated. How could I let myself get caught? Now they have my surrogate brother and father. Kanaan's usually a better planner than this. Why did he just surrender? Usually they just come in guns blazing when something like this happens. And where is Zeb, and Hera?

Ezra tries to struggle only to be shoved to the ground, hauled up and pushed inside. I follow quietly. I know what will come next and it won't be pleasant.

I am staring at the ground trying hard not to cry as the door opens and we are pushed back into the drab grey. There isn't much Hera and Zeb can do for us. Once they find out what Kanaan and Ezra are, they will do anything to keep us locked up.

""What do you want with us!"

I jump at Kanaan's sudden outburst. I try hard not to roll my eyes. He knows very well what will happen. Suddenly, there are shouts of panic and the fire of a fully automatic weapon coming from the plaza we just walked from.

"We're under attack! Snipers!"

"Lock up the prisoners! All troopers on alert! Find the attackers!" the officer bellows, face puce.

A trooper opens a nearby cell and shoves us in. I groan as I hit the ground.

"REBEL SCUM!" he screams at us and shuts the door.

Kanaan sits up and cocks his head like he was listening to something. Ezra in the meantime, reaches into his boot, pulls out his lock pick and crawls over to me.

"You okay?" he asks quietly.

I nod as he unlocks my binders. "Look, I am not sure if we'll get a chance after this. I don't think I can build the courage up. It took me weeks just to tell you now," he laughs a little before looking at the floor, a blush creeping across his face. "I wanted to apologize for the way I was acting when I first met you. I was being immature and a little creepy."

 _Whoa_

I stare at my little brother and try to say something. He doesn't look at me as he undoes his own binders.

At a complete loss for words I pull him into my arms and squeeze. "You have always been and will be a little brother to me."

He smiles and hugs me back before moving over to Kanaan and unlocking his binders.

"Now how do we get out of here?" he asks. I look up as a ship flying low overhead rattles the building.

"What was that?" I yell over the noise.

"That, would be Hera," Kanaan says as he closes his eyes in focus and extends his hand.

"That wasn't the Ghost, I know the sounds of the engines. What are you doing?" I hiss back

"Getting us out of here."

I stare at him as he lifts his hand and the door lifts in sync.

Ezra bumps me with his shoulder, "You do realize we are Jedi and can do that, right?"

I smile and roll my eyes as I follow Kanaan out of the cell, down the hall and to the door of another room.

"Think you can get this open? It's the armory. We need to get your gear back."

I look at him incredulously. "Can birds fly?"

I walk over to the control panel and override the security protocols, forcing the door to open.

Kanaan walks in, picks up an imperial blaster, and starts examining it. Ezra drags me over to a crate.

"Here's your stuff, Sabine. We don't have much time so you need to get ready."

I nod before opening the crate and start pulling on my pressure suit.

I attach the last plate just as Ezra and Kanaan finish discarding the borrowed armor.

"Okay, What now?" I ask not sure of the plan.

Ezra grins and pulls a comm out of a hidden pocket.

"Reaper, we are suited up and are headed towards the plaza. What do we do."

I narrow my eyes at him. Reaper. What's that. More like, who's that. The name sounds familiar but I can't place it.

 _Is someone helping us?_

"Specter 2, swing around and pick up Specter 4. Zeb, when she gets here jump on and cover us from the ramp," a rough, harsh voice responds.

"Once we are through the main gates, Hera, you will need to swing around to do a moving pick up. I can keep a path clear for our people to move. Specter 1, 5, and 6, once you see Specter 2 coming, run for the ship, I will be right behind you."

Ezra looks over at me, concern clearly written all over his face, "Think you can fight?"

"Don't worry about me, _Ori'vod_. Just watch your back," I smile back at him and pull on my helmet.

"That's your job," He snarks and runs out the door towards the plaza. I look at Kanaan and take off after him.

My jaw drops as we run out into the courtyard. A ship the size of the Ghost is slowly circling the plaza firing from a chain gun under the nose. Zeb is standing on a lowered cargo elevator off to the side of the ship shooting at anything white that moves. I shake my head and start shooting at the imperials closing in on our location.

"Who is that?" I ask Ezra as he slides into cover beside me.

"The ship?" he responds. I nod.

"That would be Hera. The Ghost took some damage and lost power. We met up with a fellow…"

Ezra is cut off by a sudden and powerful explosion that sends the main gates spinning off their hinges and blows back several squads of troopers. The gateway is covered in smoke as everyone freezes and stares at the new opening.

A pair of red eyes shines through the haze briefly before blaster fire rings out and four troopers fall, each with a smoking hole in their helmets.

I can only stare as a tall figure dressed in Mandalorian armor walks through the smoke, face and head hidden in a black hood that leads into a long coat. The figure looks intimidating, scary, and he is just standing there.

"Well, come on. What are you waiting for?" The same guttural voice I heard over the comm slices through the silence.

Immediately all the troopers start shooting at the figure, who dives to the side, rolls and comes up right in front of a trooper. A flash of metal, and the trooper falls.

It's chaos. Troopers are shooting at this lone figure who is dancing around the blaster fire with acrobatic ease. In one hand he wields a long metal blade, swinging it with lethal efficiency. In the other he holds a blaster pistol, shooting it with impeccable accuracy each shot dropping an enemy.

"Whoa," Kanaan whispers "I am so glad he is on our side. Imagine if he had a lightsaber."

"Would someone please tell me what is going on?" I whisper at him as loudly as I dare.

"We'll fill you in as soon as we are on the ship," Ezra whispers back "We need to help him. It will make it easier for him if we help with the soldiers."

Kanaan nods and I huff in displeasure, but I start shooting at the quickly deteriorating mass of white.

"Get ready to jump on, I see an opening and I am taking it." Hera's voice sounds over the earpiece in my helmet as the mob of storm troopers lessens.

"Specter 2! It is so good to hear your voice!" I yell over the battle.

"Same goes for you, specter 5," Hera laughs in return. The strange ship carrying Zeb circles wider than before and starts an approach.

"Go, run for the ship and jump on," I startle and turn to see the black figure, whom I assume is Reaper, standing next to us. From here I can see a skull under the hood the eyes softly glowing red. I shudder and look away, judging the distance to the ship.

I start running and feel the other three next to me. Running across the plaza I can see what is left of the complex. Everything is in shambles. What is left of the main gates are scattered around the plaza, crates are burning and bodies of troopers are strewn everywhere.

I see Kanaan and Ezra jump as the ship came closer, landing easily thanks to the Force adding to their abilities. I wait just a few seconds before I leap to grasp Ezra's outstretched hand…

 _NO_

"You are going nowhere, scum!" someone grasps my leg and pulls me back to the ground. A hand knocks off my helmet before an arm encircles my throat and another blaster barrel prods my head as the black figure slides to a stop and points his own blaster at my attacker.

"You must be Cryst," Reaper says, a mocking tone clear in his harsh voice.

"Well I'll be damned. The rumors are true. A Mandalorian running around in a black hood trying to rebel against the mighty empire," the voice of the officer that tortured me grates in my ear. I feel the pressure from the blaster leave my head and I look up to see Cryst pointing his blaster at Reaper. The red eyes flash from under the hood and I feel my captor stiffen at the sight.

"Seems we have ourselves a standoff," humor and a strange accent permeates the sound of Reaper's voice. He chuckles and holsters his blaster. The eyes under his hood glow orange, flash white, then stare into the face of the officer with a hateful blood red, illuminating the black skull.

"Let her go," the voice is low and commanding.

"Never," the man howls before squeezing off a shot making my heart skip a beat.

 _He just shot one of my rescuers. There is no way he can move in… WHOAH!_

The shot hit my fellow Mandalorian full in the chest, but Reaper simply stumbles back a step. He turns his back to us and pulls off his jacket and blaster belt and throws them up to Zeb.

He turns back, revealing an undamaged chest plate, and places his gloved hands on his head. The glowing eyes fade and the skull slides apart.

Reaper pulls off the helmet revealing sun bleached light brown hair, green eyes and a disfigured but handsome face. A scar runs down his face across his right eye, his nose is crooked, and a burn scar covers the left side of his face. He looks to be in his early 20's.

"How about this," he says in a clear deep bass, "You let her go and I won't kill you."

"I told you, NO!" screams Cryst as he shoots again.

Reaper slides to the side avoiding the laser blast.

"You're a coward, Cryst. You just shot at an unarmed man. You don't like to feel pain so you hide behind a ranged weapon. You even cower behind a hostage, a girl to boot, though I am very sure she can take care of herself. You just don't have the guts to come face me man to man."

The commander sneers and shoves me aside. I fall to the ground only to be grabbed by a surviving trooper.

"I'll make this quick," the officer throws his pistol aside and cracks his knuckles. Reaper smiles, turns and throws his helmet up to Kanaan, who is looking quite confused.

With Reaper's back turned to us he doesn't see Cryst rushing at him, drawing back a fist trying to hit him on the back of the head.

"Look out!" I screamed.

The trooper clamps his hand over my mouth as Reaper spins around and catches Cryst's fist.

"Dishonorable as well as a coward. Shoulda' figured," he mutters as he pushes the commandant back and takes up a fighting stance I have never seen before. He stands there with his right side facing the officer on the ground his left hand behind his back his right extended at a slight angle.

Cryst jumps to his feet and releases a savage battle cry and charges, bringing up his fist and releasing it right at his opponent. Reaper simply blocks it with his right forearm before swinging his arm down to deflect a low jab. He slides under a wild kick, then blocks a flurry of punches all with his right hand, his left hand still firmly folded behind his back. The officer grows scarlet and throws a right punch at Reaper's face. Calmly, Reaper grabs the jab and yanks on it, spinning his enemy around, planting an open palm to the middle the back shoving him forward. The man flies forward and hits the dirt.

The imperial gets to a knee and glares at the warrior. "You were the one asking to fight!" he growls, "So FIGHT ME!"

"You're sloppy," Reaper states slowly pacing, "Your foot work is all wrong, your telegraphing every move you make. You're not worth my time."

Cryst's face turns purple. He jumps up and runs at the man screaming "FIGHT ME." He unleashes a blind, wild left cross intended to knock out his opponent. Reaper just stands there.

 _Oh man…_

Reaper just blocked the wild haymaker, re-directing the imperial commander's clenched fist with an open palm, pushing all the officer's momentum to the other side, directly into his left fist with a resounding _crack_.

Cryst stumbles backward hands covering his face as blood drips to the ground.

"Your also slow," Reaper snarks with a smirk as he turns towards me and the trooper holding me.

He stops at the sound of a vibro-blade being drawn. I look over to see the imperial agent back on one knee, the same knife he used to torture me in his hand, a look of absolute hate on his face.

"Rebel Scum!" he seethes rising unsteadily to his feet. Reaper looks at him, clearly unamused.

"A knife fight now? You really must be desperate."

A blaster shot interrupts the young man, hitting him again in the chest plate, sending him stumbling back a step. Everyone turns to see a Stormtrooper slowly rising behind the officer, gripping his blaster. Another shot flies past in the opposite direction hitting the offending trooper in the face. To the left of me, the ship has landed and Zeb is holding his now smoking Bo-Rifle. Kanaan and Ezra join him on the ground in front of the ship, blasters drawn and pointing at the various storm troopers attempting to help their commander.

 _C'mon Sabine think!_

I slowly draw one of my pistols, look cross-eyed at the hand over my mouth, and bite it, hard. The storm trooper yelps and jerks away, holding his now sore hand. I sweep his legs out from under him, crack him over the head with my blaster and leap to my feet. I kick up my helmet from the ground and slide it on. The heads-up display comes alive, relaying a bunch of information about my health. I ignore it and run over to the ship.

"C'mon Reaper, it's time to go." Zeb hollers loudly.

The young man looks at us, then back at the agent who is still swaying with a mixed look of hate and surprise on his face.

"Like I said, waste of my time." Reaper says darkly before turning his back on the bleeding man and taking a step towards us.

"Look who's the coward now! You're running from a fight. You're no warrior. You're just a spineless weak sap who can't finish what he started! This just proves what I already knew! You're just a child without honor running around trying to act tough. What? Did mommy not care for you? Or is it that your mother's a whore and never cared!" the commandant rants in the background.

I feel Zeb stiffen next to me.

"An insult of honor. Whatever happens, we can't interfere," he mutters to Kanaan and Ezra who both look ready to shoot the offending officer.

"As a Mandalorian he can't do nothing," I whisper causing Zeb to look at me with a raised eyebrow.

Our new friend freezes as he hears Cryst's last insult. His right-hand clenches while his left starts twitching subtly. His eyes grow dark as he adopts a look of fury. His face starts to distort like a hologram, changing his eyes to a bright brown, almost red, color, scars disappearing for a split second.

Reaper closes his eyes, visibly calming himself. His hand stops twitching, and his face returns to its original form. Slowly he turns to face his insulter.

"Fine, let's make this quick."

"Oh, I shall," mutters the imperial as he charges, knife held in a reverse grip.

Cryst stabs downward with all his might, hatred driving the movement, only to look completely shocked when his hand is caught, twisted, and the knife wrenched out of his grasp.

"Don't hold it like that. It limits your options. Hold it length wise, smooth," comes the snide remark, as the commandant once again eats dirt.

To my shock, Reaper throws the knife back to the agent, who quickly grabs it, holding it as suggested.

Charging again, the commander stabs at our rebel friend. The young man merely side steps, grabbing the offending arm once more, pulling the commandant so their standing nose to nose.

"No one insults my family without paying the price," he spits into Cryst's face. With that, he forces the knife up and into the imperials neck. The older man's eyes widen as he coughs, staggering forward before falling face down.

Reaper sighs and walks towards us. I just stare at the body of the commandant.

 _I have never seen anyone fight like that. That is definitely not a Mandalorian style. But he could be a real asset to us against the empire. Just remember not to get on his bad side._

I don't realize the others have already boarded until I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"{Come, beautiful. Let's go.}"


End file.
